1772 English cricket season

1772 English cricket season
Cricket formats first-class and single wicket
Most runs 213 – John Small

The 1772 English cricket season is notable in cricket statistics because it is from then that surviving scorecards are common. Scorecards have survived of three major cricket[a] matches played in 1772. These were all organised, in part at least, by the Hambledon Club and were between Hampshire and All-England.

Hampshire twice defeated All-England but lost the third of the three scorecarded matches before defeating Surrey in a match with no known scorecard. The leading bowlers of the day are understood to have been Thomas Brett of Hampshire and Lumpy Stevens of Chertsey and Surrey, although the scorecards of 1772 have not preserved any bowling or fielding data. The outstanding batsman of the season in terms of known runs scored was John Small of Hampshire, while William Yalden of Chertsey and Surrey also achieved good scores.

Re the matches on 10–11 and 26–27 August, the sources occasionally refer to teams raised by the Hambledon Club as being representative of both Hampshire and Sussex. Sussex as a county team is rarely mentioned during the "Hambledon Era".[1]

List of major matches

There are surviving scorecards from every English season since 1772 and these provide a continuous statistical record, albeit an incomplete one till the mid-19th century, that is now the basis of first-class cricket statistics. The two main online archives begin their first-class statistics in 1772, the match at Broadhalfpenny Down on 24 and 25 June numbered "first-class no. 1" by ESPNcricinfo and "f1" by CricketArchive.[2][3]

It is necessary to note, however, that "first-class" in the context of matches played in Great Britain before 1895, and in the rest of the world before 1947, is a statistical term only, with no official status, and does not infer any historical importance over matches without a scorecard. Although there were three matches in 1772 that are now adjudged "statistically first-class", they were three among seven major cricket matches known to have been played that season: the difference is that the other four have left no known scorecards. Furthermore, it must be noted that the designation of a pre-1895 match as "first-class" is a matter of opinion only that could be (and sometimes is) contested by other reliable sources; therefore, it is necessary to decide by reference to all reputable sources if the match has historical significance and so should be classified as major cricket, rather than merely statistically first-class. The four matches without scorecards in 1772 are classified by CricketArchive as "other matches" only,[4] but their historical importance is attested by the references (see below) in the works of Arthur Haygarth, H. T. Waghorn and G. B. Buckley, all recognised cricket historians, and so there is no doubt that they were major cricket matches and equally as notable in historical terms as the three statistically first-class ones.

date match title venue result source
1 June (M) Sheffield v Nottingham unknown location in Sheffield Sheffield won [5]
notes

Nottingham forfeited the match after being dismissed for 14 and then seeing Sheffield score 70 with wickets still in hand. See also the match on 26 August 1771. A pre-match announcement appeared in the (Nottingham) Daily Messenger on Tuesday, 25 May: We are informed that the great Cricket Match which has been so long depending between the Society of Nottingham & that of Sheffield is to be finally determined at Sheffield on Mon., 1 June . . . . The Sherwood youths have been practising for some weeks past, and we are told, the odds at Nottingham are 2 to 1 in their favour. The paper followed up with a report on Friday, 12 June that bewailed the defeat of the Nottingham team.[6]

24–25 June (W-Th) Hampshire v England Broadhalfpenny Down Hampshire won by 53 runs [7]
notes

Hampshire 146 (J. Small 78, E. Aburrow 27) & 79 (J. Small 34); England 109 (T. White 35) & 63 (T. May 18)

Commencing with this game, there is what amounts to a continuous statistical record with surviving scorecards of at least some games in every single season from 1772 onwards. Until the end of the 18th century, there remain numerous matches without scorecards, but a norm was established in 1772 and the available data increases in later seasons. No details of bowling or fielding are known. All 22 players in the match made what is statistically their "first-class debuts", though all of them had been active in major cricket before 1772 with John Frame, for example, first recorded as long ago as 1749.[2]

Hampshire had two given men: William Yalden and John Edmeads, both of Surrey. This gave Hampshire two wicketkeepers, Tom Sueter and Yalden, but it is not known which of them kept wicket in this match; both were noted batsmen as well as wicketkeepers. The England wicketkeeper was probably Gill of Buckinghamshire who is known to have been the wicketkeeper for All-England in its matches against Dartford in September 1759.[5] Gill does not appear elsewhere in recorded scores.

Noted bowlers taking part in the game were Frame, Lumpy Stevens, Dick May and Thomas White for England and Thomas Brett, Richard Nyren, William Hogsflesh and William Barber for Hampshire.[2] The match was played for 500 guineas and, in some accounts, the England was termed "Kent, Middlesex and Surrey".[7]

John Small's score of 78 was the highest recorded in the 1772 season and, as such, it established the then record for the highest individual score definitely recorded in a major match (note — it is believed that higher scores were made in past seasons but none of them are definite). According to contemporary newspaper reports, "bets of £500 were laid against John Minshull (aka Minchin) in favour of John Small".[8] Other batsmen playing were Sueter, Yalden, Edmeads, George Leer, Peter Stewart and Edward Aburrow for Hampshire; and Tom May, Joseph Miller, James Fuggles, William Palmer and Childs for England.[2]

23–24 July (Th-F) England v Hampshire Guildford Bason Hampshire won by 62 runs [9][10]
notes

Hampshire 152 (W. Yalden 68) & 122 (W. Yalden 49, J. Small 30); England 126 (J. Miller 30, R. Simmons 27) & 86 (J. Miller 26)

This is the second game in 1772 with a surviving scorecard. As in the previous match, Hampshire had two given men: William "the Yold" Yalden and John Edmeads, both of Surrey. Yalden's contribution was significant as he scored 68 and 49 in his team's totals of 152 & 122. Again, the bowling and fielding details are unknown. Some confusion has arisen over the extras as, according to F. S. Ashley-Cooper: "In the course of the game, the Hambledon Club (sic) got 11 notches in byes and All-England (sic) 21, but they were not entered in the scoresheet". He gave the match scores as 144 and 118 to 117 and 73 with Hampshire winning by 72 runs.[9]

10–11 August (M-Tu) Hampshire & Sussex v Kent Broadhalfpenny Down Hampshire & Sussex won by 50 runs [11]
notes

The stake was 500 guineas. No details are known besides the result.

19–20 August (W-Th) England v Hampshire Bishopsbourne Paddock Kent won by 2 wickets [12][13]
notes

Hampshire 123 (G. Leer 29, T. Sueter 26) & 113 (J. Small 48); England 136 (W. Palmer 29, J. Minshull 24) & 101–8 (J. Wood 20, J. Miller 17*)

The third 1772 match with a surviving scorecard. Hampshire again had Yalden and Edmeads of Surrey as given men. Nine of the All-England players were of Kent with Stevens and Thomas White of Surrey.

26–27 August (W-Th) Kent v Hampshire & Sussex Guildford Bason Kent won by innings & 29 runs [1]
notes

The source says: "Hampshire & Sussex = Hambledon Club", adding weight to the theory that Hambledon was a two counties club.[1]

The bets placed seem to have been mainly around how many the Duke of Dorset would score compared with "Mr Ellis", a now unknown player. It is possible that this was a "gentlemen only" game and the same may be true of the match on 10 August. The report was in the General Evening Post on Saturday, 29 August.[1]

28 August (F) Surrey v Hampshire Guildford Bason Hampshire won by 45 runs [14]
notes

No details are known except the result.

Other events

Tuesday, 2 June. There was a fives match at the Artillery Ground between Kent and Hampshire. Hampshire scored 11 & 46; Kent scored 35 & 23–4 to win by one wicket. The Kent team was John Boorman, John Frame, Richard May, John Minshull and Joseph Miller. Minshull scored 26 & 11; Frame scored the winning run. The Hampshire team was John Small, Tom Sueter, George Leer, Thomas Brett and Richard Nyren. Nyren scored 29 out of 46 in the second innings.[15][16]

There were a couple of games in June that involved the Blackheath club against teams designated as counties but, as G. B. Buckley says, "the alleged Kent team cannot have been representative" and they are minor matches only.[8]

Another Kent game against a team called London & Middlesex apparently took place at the Artillery Ground on Tuesday, 11 August, the same day as the Hampshire & Sussex v Kent match above. It is believed that this was not a representative game, especially given the stakes on offer at Hambledon.[17]

First mentions

Leading batsmen

Many scorecards in the 18th century are unknown or have missing details and so it is impossible to provide a complete analysis of batting performances: e.g., the missing not outs prevent computation of batting averages. The "runs scored" are in fact the runs known.

runs player
213 John Small
136 William Yalden
98 Joseph Miller

Leading bowlers

No bowling figures are available. The most notable bowlers of the time were Lumpy Stevens of Chertsey, John Frame of Dartford and Hambledon's Thomas Brett, Richard Nyren, William Barber and William Hogsflesh.

Leading fielders & wicket-keepers

No fielding figures are available. Noted wicketkeepers of the time were Tom Sueter of Hambledon and Hampshire; William Yalden of Chertsey and Surrey; and Richard Simmons of Kent. One player who was noted for his fielding exploits was George Louch, of Chatham, who later became an early MCC stalwart.

Footnote

• a)^ The term "major cricket" deserves some qualification. It is not limited to "first-class cricket" which is a misleading concept that is essentially statistical and may typically ignore the more important historical aspect of a match if statistical information is missing, as is invariably the case re matches played prior to 1772. From that season, scorecards began to be created habitually and there is a continuous and adequate, though incomplete, statistical record commencing in 1772. Major cricket in the Stuart and Hanoverian periods includes both single wicket and eleven-a-side games. Features of these matches include high stakes, large crowds and evidence that the teams are representative of several parishes, perhaps of whole counties. Except in rare instances, village cricket in the shape of a match played between two parish teams, would be classified as minor.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Buckley (FLPVC), p. 7.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Hampshire v England at Hambledon, 24–25 June 1772". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  3. ↑ "First-class matches in 1772". CricketArchive. Retrieved 28 August 2010.
  4. ↑ "1772 other matches list". CricketArchive. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  5. 1 2 Haygarth, p. 2.
  6. ↑ Buckley (FLPVC), pp. 6–7.
  7. 1 2 Ashley-Cooper, p. 177.
  8. 1 2 Buckley (FL18C), p. 57.
  9. 1 2 Ashley-Cooper, p. 178.
  10. ↑ "England v Hampshire at Guildford, 23–24 July 1772". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  11. ↑ Waghorn (DC), p. 36.
  12. ↑ Haygarth, p. 4.
  13. ↑ "England v Hampshire at Bishopsbourne, 19–20 August 1772". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  14. ↑ Buckley, 18th Century Cricket, p. 59.
  15. ↑ H. T. Waghorn, Cricket Scores, pp. 77–78.
  16. ↑ Haygarth, p. 3.
  17. ↑ Buckley, 18th Century Cricket, p. 58.

Bibliography

Additional reading

External links

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